Dance the Waltz With Me
by Blue September Rain
Summary: [Chapter 2 Up] The images being relayed from space were real. Relena watched in horror as her life's work came crumbling down into a pile of rubble from just those few images displayed on the screen.
1. Chapter 00

Dance the Waltz with Me

Prologue

Edited for clarity

_A.C. 202_

_After the Eve Wars of A.C. 196, the world sunk into a comfortable peace time era. On Relena Darlian's eighteenth birthday, she was appointed as the Ambassador to the colonies, and was a crucial part of the formation of the United Space Colonies (USC). From there, she helped establish the Limited Weapons Treaty (LWT), which kept armies from letting their defenses get too large. The rational was that if there was peace, then weapons weren't needed. And with the unification of the Earth Sphere and the Colonies, they managed to come to an agreement about how they would be governed, and they agreed to stay out of affairs that did not directly pertain to the other. But Relena didn't stop there._

_After much toil and strife, Relena Darlian had finally managed to start the Mars Terraformation Project (MTfP). The whole purpose of the project was to create another place for human beings to reside. For the first few years, the project seemed to be going well. An area on Mars was established and deemed a suitable environment for humans to thrive in. _

_Relena invested a large amount of her own hard earned money into the project and she spent her free time planning more individual projects to start on the red planet. A few officials were elected by a committee from Earth to preside over the project while Relena was busy with her duties as Ambassador to the United Space Colonies. _

_A few hundred people moved to Mars as soon as the atmosphere was created. Most of them were construction workers, scientists, engineers, and a few entrepreneurs who wanted to try their hand at making a living on Mars before it became a booming colony. All reports from Mars were positive, and those who had moved there seemed to really enjoy it. _

_However, as the years wore on, the President of the ESUN was less in favor of the project, and aside from Relena, he was the biggest political supporter of the project. However, his mind was changed, and he deemed the project "a waste of time, money and resources." He ordered an immediate halt of the project in May of A.C. 202, and forbade Relena Darlian, as well as all the other sponsors, from sending more money for the project's continuation._

_Though the President of the ESUN would never admit it, he was afraid of Relena Darlian, and her power she held over the people living on Earth and in the Colonies. As Relena gained I favor among the people, he felt his own power dwindling. Relena Darlian was getting too powerful, and it scared him. To show that he still held some control over what she did with her time and money, he stopped the project to ensure he would always remain on top. _

_Despite the fact that the project was abandoned, those who had moved there decided to remain. There were quite a few buildings already built, and they had enough supplies to finish building a few of the other buildings. No one really knew how they managed it, but they lived in quiet contentment for three years. _

_At least, that's what the ESUN and the USC seemed to believe. Because the project was completely abandoned, any activity going on there went undetected. No one knew that their 'quiet contentment' was actually bitter resentment at being ignored as a crucial project for the human race._

--

A/N: This is obviously just the prologue. I'd really, really appreciate some feedback. I'm trying a different approach to my writing, and I'm hoping it turns out better results. So any thoughts on this would be a huge help. Thanks a lot! Peace, love and tacos.

-Blue September Rain


	2. Chapter 01

Dance the Waltz with Me

Chapter 1

May 1, A.C. 205

4:30 pm

Preventer HQ

Wufei leaned back in his chair and looked at the computer screen, his eyes narrow. His eyes skimmed over the reports for the fifth time. He looked up at his wife Sally, who was sitting at her desk across the room from him. "Hey Sal, come look at this." He said, breaking her concentration from whatever she was working on.

"Sure." She rose and crossed the room. She stood behind him and rested her hands on his shoulders and leaned towards the computer screen. She read through the report quickly. "Is this correct?" She asked. Wufei nodded.

"It just came in from Unit 23, the one out in that area." Wufei told her.

"But they haven't had any funding for three years! How could they-" Sally started to say. A knock at the door interrupted her.

"Come in." Wufei called. The door opened and a tall figure stepped into the room. He grinned.

"Hey you two! What's goin' on?" He asked, stepping into the room.

"We just got some interesting news from Unit 23." Wufei said, a slight grin on his face. Duo's eyes light up.

"Oh yeah? What kind of news?" Duo asked, walking around the desk to look at the monitor. "That's the unit near Mars, isn't it?" Wufei nodded. Duo read the report over Wufei's shoulder. "Whoa! Are you kidding me?" he cried out. "Am I reading this right?"

"Unless both of us are insane, it's right." Sally commented.

"This is nuts. Lady Une is going to be pissed." Duo said. His colleagues laughed.

"Let's just hope this can be taken care of quietly. We don't really need this stuff leaking out to the general public." Sally said. "That could be disastrous."

"But what reasons could they have to build those?" Wufei wondered aloud. The other two shrugged their shoulders. He clicked print on the computer and stood up. "I'll take this down to Lady Une."

--

Wufei knocked on Lady Une's door, and before she answered, he pushed the door open. She was writing something at her desk, and her personal assistant was standing next to the desk, waiting. Lady Une looked up and smiled.

"Hi Wufei. What can I do for you?" She asked. Wufei crossed the room and placed the report down in front of her. She scanned through it, her face falling from a smile to a frown as she progressed. "Is this right?" She asked, looking up at him. Wufei nodded. Lady Une looked back down and read it again. Wufei narrowed his eyes when he saw her assistant trying to read the report over her shoulder.

_Oh well, what can she do about it?_ He thought.

"Thanks for bringing this down, Wufei. I'll talk to Director Branson later on today." She said. Wufei nodded.

"Sure." Wufei turned and left the room. Lady Une rose from her desk.

"I'm going to talk to him now. I'll just leave this for tomorrow. You may leave if you want." She said to her assistant. The girl smiled.

"Thanks Miss Une." She said. Lady Une watched the girl leave, then she called the director of the Preventers, Director Anthony Branson. He was a younger man, who had recently taken over the position from the original Director of the group. His dark hair was always slicked back in a suave manner, and his dark brown eyes twinkled whenever he was in the midst of talking about a new mission for the Preventers to embark on. Lady Une liked him more than the last man, thought sometimes he seemed just a little _too_ excited about putting out "fires."

"What can I do for you?" He asked her when he answered the vid-phone.

"Sir, I just got some important information from Wufei Chang. I feel that we should have a talk about it." She said to him. He nodded.

"Sure. I have a few minutes. What's up?"

"In person." Lady Une said.

"Ah! Well come on up to my office. We can chat up here." He said. She nodded and cut the connection. She gathered up her papers and shoved them into a folder then left her office. She locked the door and caught the elevator up to the 7th floor of the Preventer HQ. When she arrived at Branson's office, he had put a chair on the other side of his desk for her to sit in, and he was patiently waiting for her. "Afternoon, Miss Une." He said with a smile. She returned the gesture, then sat down in the chair. She pushed the folder across the desk to him.

"We got this report from Unit 23 today." She said. He looked up at her.

"Twenty-three? The Mars unit?" He questioned. She nodded.

"It seems they are performing some unusual activities up there. Though I don't really understand how they had the means to do this." She said as he read the report.

"Mobile suits!?" He cried out suddenly. "But how? That project ended 3 years ago! And I don't believe that creating an army was part of the plans." He said.

"It wasn't. We had no idea they even had the supplies or intelligence to create mobiles suits. All the factories that built them during the war were shut down and abandoned. And I'm fairly certain that all suits in existence were destroyed." Lady Une, folding her hands in front of her. "Except those, of course."

"What should we do about this? This kind of situation is one that should defiantly be kept secret. However, if we put too many of our men up there, then someone is bound to notice. Do you think we should inform the Presidents?" He asked her.

"I don't know. I know they would be upset, and they would blame us if anything happened. But right now, we're the only ones with means to stop this fire." She replied. He nodded and laced his fingers together in front of his face. They both sat in thought for a few minutes.

"Well, we could have a quiet little recruitment program, and get a few more men to boost our numbers. As long as we don't have too many people, it's sure to slip under the nose of President Garrison and his men. We can conduct the training here if need be, in the basement." He said, brainstorming ideas. Lady Une nodded. "But that doesn't really help the situation in of itself. I guess all we can really do is keep on eye on them incase they try to attack anyone."

"That does seem to be really the only thing we can do." Lady Une agreed.

"Well, will you take care of the recruitment? I think Wufei and Sally could handle training them?" He asked. She nodded.

"I'll take care of it right away. Thanks, Tony." She said. He nodded, and she left the room.

--

May 7, A.C. 205

8:00 am

Wufei stood before the gathering of people in the basement of the Preventer Headquarters, his arms crossed over his chest. He watched them talk with each other, some nervous, some arrogant. He had already picked out the new recruits that he didn't like. There was one in particular who he knew would grate on his last nerves. He was a tall blond, lean yet muscular. His hair was on the long-ish side and curly per the latest fashion for hair. His brown eyes glittered with that arrogance and defiance Wufei had seen before in the eyes of soldiers who never lasted long during the wars.

Lady Une had approached him the day that they got the report about the fire on Mars. She had informed Sally and himself that they were going to issue a _quiet_ draft to get more people in the Preventers. The draft happened relatively quickly, as they had several names on file of people who wished to join, but there had not yet been a position for them. Many of them were ages 18-20 who seemed to have a little bit too much of an interesting in fighting. Director Branson also had a few ties with some people who were willing to join for the sake of protecting peace for the ESUN and the USC.

Nearing footsteps pulled Wufei from his thoughts. Sally was approaching; she had two clip boards in her hands. Her smiling face put him in a slightly better mood, but he knew it would be dashed as soon as the training began.

"Why the gloomy face?" She asked when she stopped at his side.

"Kids these days are too arrogant." Wufei replied, holding his hand out for the clipboard. Sally placed it in his hand.

"Just try not to scare too many of them away, darling." She said, nudging him in the side. Wufei grumbled. Sally turned to look at the group in front of her. There were abut forty of them, so about twenty for each of them. Not bad. "Welcome to your first day of basic training!" She said, commanding the attention of the room.

"It's about time…" The tall blond remarked from the front of the group. Wufei started to move to teach that boy a thing or two, but Sally reached up and grabbed his shoulder, the expression on her face unchanging.

"My name is Sally, and this is Wufei. We will be training you. So, if you'll listen carefully, we'll call out your names. Listen for which of us calls your name, for you will be with us for the next week. Barron, Tyler!" She called. A boy in the middle of the crowd moved across the room towards Sally.

Wufei looked down at the list of names on his clipboard. "Ashton, Clark." His eyes flicked up to the crowd. Much to his great dismay, the arrogant boy in the front of the group shifted his weight as he heard his name called. _Great…_

A few minutes later, all the names had been called. Sally raised her hand that held the clipboard in the way. "My group, this way." She called. She winked at Wufei, then led her group out of the room.

"We'll be staying in here." Wufei told his group. Clark Ashton stepped closer to him.

"Is it true you're a Gundam Pilot?" He asked, his stance arrogant.

"I never said it was question and answer time." Wufei said without looking at him. He raised his voice. "Make four lines across the room, and make sure to give yourself enough space." The trainees moved slowly away and began to form lines in front of him.

"How come you didn't answer my question? Too afraid to admit that you _weren't_ a Gundam Pilot?" Clark asked. He hadn't moved from his spot. Wufei shifted his eyes to him. "Insubordination is not tolerated in the Preventers. Join a line." He said, his voice hard and his eyes steely. Clark mimicked Wufei, then turned away and stood in the front line. Wufei made a little note beside his name on the paper.

_This is going to be a long week…_

--

Thoughts and comments are, as always, much appreciated.

-Blue September Rain


	3. Chapter 02

Dance the Waltz with Me

Chapter 2

May 8, A.C. 205

2:00 pm

Relena Darlian sat at a large oak table, the President of the ESUN, Ralph Garrison, the President of the USC, Howard Simmons sat at the heads of the table, and a few of the committee members filled in on the sides. They were "discussing" the establishment of a law saying that people from the various colonies had to have a passport to travel between colonies and to Earth. President Garrison was in support of the idea, but President Simmons was opposed. Relena felt, sometimes, more like a mediator rather than an Ambassador.

"The colonies should be treated like other countries. People on Earth have to have passports to travel from country to country. Why shouldn't the people of the colonies have to have them to travel between the various places?" President Garrison argued.

"Maybe I trust the people of the colonies than you trust the people living on Earth." President Simmons sneered. Relena groaned inwardly. _Men are so immature._ She thought. She glanced at the committee members sitting across from her, and they were giving her looks that showed they felt the same way as she did. She reached up and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She understood where President Garrison was coming from, but President Simmons just wouldn't relent. However, Relena's job wasn't to choose sides, but rather make sure they didn't jump up onto tables and start fist fighting.

President Garrison was about to counter when someone burst into the room. One of the committee members rose to his feet. "This is a closed meeting!" He said. "Authorized personnel only!" The woman looked at him apologetically.

"I know, but this is important." She said. She hurried to the TV that was built into the wall and turned it on. She changed the channel, and stood back. The images on the screen caused everyone in the room's jaws to drop.

"These images you are seeing are real time, and are being transmitted by colony L2. The mobile suits you are seeing have supposedly come from Mars, though the Mars Terraformation Project was abandoned several years ago. No one is sure about how they were able to build these suits or where they got the materials for them.

"It's obvious L2 is having trouble defending themselves from these attacks. The exterior of the colony has already sustained a considerable amount of damage, and the citizens inside are shaken and afraid of what could happen. Will there be a repeat of the destruction of a colony that happened so many years ago?

"They are not alone, however. There appears to be a Unit from the Preventers attempting to fend off the suits. So far, only three have been destroyed, and there are 5 more." A news anchors voice said as the images appeared on the screen. The mobile suits looked crude, but they seemed to be doing their job quite well. The Preventer Unit was trying its hardest to defend the colony. The colony did not have many defenses of its own, save for the mini laser cannons that have been built into the surface of the colony. Though powerful, they have a terrible ability to aim at any particular target, and are only good for attempting to scare away any attackers, unless the attackers happen to get in the way of the beams.

Relena stared at the footage in disbelief. _How can this be happening?_ Relena asked herself. Her life's work flashed before her eyes as she watched the suits attack the colony.

"There have been a few whispers among the workers here at World News Channel 23 that have been wondering if the former supporter of the Mars Terraformation Project, Ambassador Relena Darlian is at the bottom of these attacks. Of course, these are just rumors and should not be taken seriously." The news anchor stated, as almost a side note.

Relena blinked. In a split second, every pair of eyes in the room was locked onto her face. Relena's heartbeat suddenly sped up and blood began throbbing at her temples and in her ears. _They think I'm behind this?_ She thought in utter disbelief.

"It seems the mobile suits are retreating. The remaining five have ceased firing and are moving away from L2 and returning to Mars." The images on screen cut away and the news caster's face reappeared. "The images have been stopped. We will be sure to announce any updates we have on this situation once we have more information. In other news…" The woman who had burst into the room turned the TV off once the images of the attacks were gone. All eyes were still locked on Relena.

"You can't really believe that I'm at the bottom of these attacks…" Relena said slowly, looking at each individual straight in the eyes. She was trying as hard as she could to keep her temper from rising and her voice even. President Garrison rose from his seat, his hands placed flat on the table. His face was pale.

"Miss Dorlian, I believe you should leave the room, right now." He said. His eyes would not waver from her own, so she stood, gathered her things, and left without another word.

--

2:30 pm

Dorothy clenched her teeth and held the edge of the table tightly to keep herself from attacking the television. "How can they just say that shit on international television?? It's slanderous!! They have no proof that Relena is behind those attacks! Everyone knows she wasn't allowed to work on that project anymore after the President shut it down!" Dorothy yelled to no one in particular.

For the next several hours, she sat on her computer, researching the right of the news station to say things like that on international television about important political figures. When six o'clock rolled around, she dashed out of the office. She stopped at every news station, gas station and store she could find and got as many different evening newspapers as she could find. With her stack of 'slander' as she was calling it in her mind, she headed home.

When she arrived home, Dorothy spread her pile of newspapers out over her dining room table and glanced them over. Just from wandering around the stories, she knew that rumors were beginning to spread, and she had a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach that someone was going to go overboard and get Relena into some big trouble. _As is that stupid news station hasn't already ruined Relena._ Based on rumors alone, she knew it was possible that Relena would be fired from her position. She grabbed the paper nearest to her, and she opened it, scanning the articles. _There's one._ She thought, her eyes catching her name in the first few lines of an article in the opinion section. She began to read the article.

"_There's been a lot of protests occurring around Earth and the Colonies about what is going on up in space with the abandoned Mars Terraformation project. Of course, we all know who could be responsible for this. Relena Darlian, the original creator, financial backer and greatest supporter of the Mars Terraformation Project, has probably had ideas of conquest set in the back of her mind since the project first began in A.C. 197. This is greatly upsetting to the general public of both the USC and the ESUN, as everyone has grown to trust this figurehead since the Christmas Wars of A.C. 195-196. It seems our "Lady of Peace" has not been trying to lay the groundwork for a future peace, but rather break down the defenses of the Earth and Colonies so she can lead her full fledged attack against the aforementioned. In this reporter's opinion, these actions are very sick and disturbing."_

"Shit."

--

4:00 pm

Sally stood at the front of the room, watching the new trainees practice simple hand to hand combat. The bigger ones were throttling the smaller, weaker recruits. She shook her head, disappointed. Not wanting to watch much more of the one sided fighting, she stopped them.

"I'm going to be very blunt with you right now, because in times like these, you won't find someone who's going to beat around the bush when criticizing you. It's easy to see who's taller, broader and stronger, and I see no effort from the others." She said, making eye contact with all the smaller recruits. One shyly raised his hand in the air.

"But Miss Sally, they can easily overpower us!" He said. Sally raised an eyebrow, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Is that so?" She asked. She walked through the group and found the tallest and the physically strongest one of the bunch. She pulled him to the front of the room. "Watch carefully." She announced to the group. They all looked on intently, others craning their necks to see better. She turned to face the boy she brought to the front. "Try to get me in a head lock." She said. The boy shrugged and reached for her. In a flash, Sally avoided his attack, slipped her around his back, caught her leg between his ankles and brought him to the ground on his back, her foot resting dangerously close to his throat.

"If I can overpower someone like him, then you can, too." She said. They mumbled among themselves. So much for training being a piece of cake…

_In the other training room…_

Wufei was rubbing the bridge of his nose, trying to clear away the ache pounding in his head. These soldiers were terrible. He opened his eyes and looked at them. He had set them to a teamwork task, mostly to get them out of his hair for a while. He broke them up into 4 groups, and gave them each a simple problem to solve. Each one was designed to incorporate different skills and abilities. They had been created by Lucrezia Noine during the wars several years ago. They were flawless, but somehow, these soldiers could not, for the life of them, figure it out.

Wufei knew the problem. It was their stubbornness to work together in order to figure it out. Also, that irritating boy, Clark Ashton. He was attempting to figure it out for himself, and was not allowing any of the other trainees to aid him. Wufei shook his head. He'd have to have a talk with Lady Une and Director Branson when the day was over. He didn't know how much more of this he could take.

_I wonder how Sally is faring…_

--

5:00 pm

Lady Une sighed and sat back in her chair. She rubbed the bridge of her nose with her fingers. She had just gotten back from observing the training of the new Preventer recruits. Wufei and Sally seemed to be having a bit of trouble with them by themselves. _They're too eager to fight._ She told herself. She hoped that two of her top Preventers would be able to break down the kids' ideas of fighting, and help them reshape them into ideas of tactics and just putting out fires. _We're not in another war yet._

Mariemaya was sitting on the couch in Lady Une's office, still in her school uniform. She was reading through the newspaper. "Mother, there's an article in here about Miss Relena. They seem to think that she's behind those terrorist attacks coming from Mars." She said, lowering the newspaper to look at her adopted mother. Lady Une looked over at her daughter.

"What?" Mariemaya stood and folded back the newspaper and set it on Lady Une's desk. She pointed to the article. Lady Une skimmed it through it, the lines around her mouth getting deeper as she frowned. Lines of worry formed across her forehead. "Damn them!" She cried out suddenly when she finished reading the article. Mariemaya looked sadly at her mother.

"What are we gonna do?" She asked. Lady Une looked up at her.

"I don't know…"

--

Thanks a lot to those who's reviewed. It's very helpful to hear comments about the story. It helps the author keep motivated to continue writing.

-Blue September Rain


	4. Chapter 03

Dance the Waltz with Me

Chapter 3

May 8, A.C. 205

8:30 pm

Relena was lying face down on her bed when her cell began to ring. She seriously contemplated ignoring it all together, but there was still something urging her to answer so. Reluctantly, she pushed herself off the bed and crossed the room. After digging in her purse, she found the phone and checked the caller id. It was Heero. The urge to ignore the call grew again. There was a slim chance he knew what happened already. Perhaps it would be best not to tell him…

"Hello." She answered the phone, trying to hide the irritation and anger in her voice. Of course, it didn't work.

"What's wrong, Relena?" The voice on the other end asked.

"It's nothing. Just a rough day of work, that's all. How are you?" She asked, changing the subject to avoid the conversation.

"Busy as always, but I think this mess will be cleared up soon. I'm counting on only being here a few more days, but it could change." He said. Relena smiled to herself. It'd been weeks since she'd last seen him.

"That's wonderful news." She replied.

"Mhm. Oh, sorry to cut this short, but I'm needed. Sleep well tonight." He said, using their traditional night-time farewell.

"You too. Good night." They hung up their phones. Relena tossed her phone carelessly aside and returned to her bed. She was still fuming at the president for forcing her out of the meeting today. There was no evidence against her. She'd always believed that the government was run on the assumption that one was innocent until proven guilty. Apparently things didn't work that way.

Just as she was about to settle herself on her bed, her blasted phone rang again. She grabbed it and looked at the caller id. _Dorothy_. She must have seen the broadcast earlier. Relena sighed, bracing herself for an onslaught of newscaster bashing. Lying down on the bed, she flipped open the phone.

"Hello Dorothy." Relena said.

"MISS RELENA!" Dorothy exploded. Relena flinched and held the phone a few inches away from her ear.

"What is it, Dorothy?" Relena asked.

"Oh, Miss Relena! I saw those bastards on TV talking about you as if you had something to do with those attacks! They can't do that! I spent three hours researching it, and they broke the law!" Dorothy said, barely pausing to breathe.

"I know, Dorothy." Relena said.

"But of course, those damn journalists didn't stop there! You haven't read the newspapers today, have you?" She asked. Relena sighed. She had indeed read the newspapers.

"No, I didn't." She lied.

"Well, don't. Don't touch a single one until this is all over. And trust me, Miss Relena, those bastards are going to pay for that. They will not get away with it!" Dorothy cried into the phone.

"Thank you for your support, Dorothy, but I'm really not feeling well tonight. I'm going to bed early." Relena said.

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow at work."

"Good night." Relena said. The farewell was exchanged, and Relena hung up the phone. She tossed it onto the arm chair across the room. She threw her arm over her eyes, and was asleep in a few minutes.

--

9:00 pm

Noine watched her husband's face as he read the daily newspaper. She bit her lip, a little afraid of when he would finish the article about Relena. She could already see his face beginning to turn a red, and that vine near his temple was starting to swell. She guessed that he was trying really hard to not explode, but Noine wouldn't put it past him to do so.

Noine had gotten a hold of the newspaper and read it before Millardo go home, and she had attempted to hide it, but she was in a hurry, and her hiding place wasn't good enough. Millardo found it accidentally, and Noine couldn't steal it back from him before he read the articles.

After a few moments, Millardo set the newspaper down onto the table. He was staring at it, his eye blank. Noine couldn't figure out what exactly he was thinking.

Finally, Millardo looked up and met Noine's eyes. She saw something familiar in his eyes, and it was something she wished she would never have to see again. Fury was dancing in his eyes, and Noine knew that Millardo was now a force to be reckoned with. She rose and walked around the table to stand behind him.

"Before you do anything stupid, please promise me you will think before you act, or before you say anything." She said, resting her hands on his shoulder. She could feel his body trembling in anger.

"I make no promises." He said. Noine sighed. "I'm calling her." Noine shook her head.

"Leave her alone for the night, darling. I'm sure she already had a rough day. Don't make it worse." Noine said, applying force to his shoulders to discourage him from standing up.

"Fine." He said. He was silent for the rest of the evening, stewing in his own anger. Noine knew this couldn't and wouldn't turn out well.

--

May 12, A.C. 205

7:30 am

"Here is your tea, Mr. Winner." The butler leaned down with the tray and placed it in front of Quatre Winner.

"Thank you." He said, and the butler bowed and left the room. Quatre stirred his tea, but his thoughts were wandering elsewhere. The sudden attacks on L2 caused a large amount of unrest among the colonies. Of course, Quatre's company had immediately sent supplies and workers to L2 to repair the damage done by the mobile suits.

But the sheer appearance of the mobile suits is the strangest thing of all. Nothing had left or arrived on Mars in the last few years, not since the project was shut down. Quatre knew it was a blow to Relena, as she really believed that this project was important for the imminent survival of the human race. Quatre wasn't really sure how those who remained on Mars were able to build those suits, but he was sure that the Preventers were working on finding out.

Quatre leaned back in his chair and turned on the television. The news was on. He sighed. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear what they had to say.

"Last week after the broadcasting of the attack on L2, protests broke out over Earth and on the colonies, opposing the Limited Weapons Treaty, enacted in A.C. 202, with Relena Dorlian as its supporter. Also, many people are wondering about Relena's true intentions as Ambassador to the colonies, as well as her involvement in the recent attack from Mars. Many people are now waiting for what will come of these events. Many, who were once avid supporters of Relena, now believe that she is no longer qualified or needed as the Ambassador, as she seems to be creating more trouble than fixing problems." Quatre shut off the TV. That was as much as he cared to hear.

_Poor Relena…_

--

8:00 am

Relena sat at the end of the table, with President Garrison and President Simmons sitting on the other side, staring at her.

"I'm sure you're aware of all the protest that have been breaking out world wide." President Garrison said.

"As well as on the colonies." President Simmons interjected. President Garrison nodded in agreement.

"I'm sure you know the reason…" President Garrison continued.

"I beg your pardon, but there is no evidence once so ever that supports me being a cause of the attacks from Mars!" Relena said. "I had no part of that what-so-ever." The Presidents looked skeptical.

"It's not only that, Miss Dorlian." President Simmons said. "The Limited Weapons Treaty is the reason why L2 had no way to defend itself when those suits attacked." Relena sighed.

"I never thought that anyone would ever consider rebuilding those suits!" Relena said, feeling her temper rising. Once again, they looked skeptical.

President Garrison rose from his seat. "Miss Dorlian, we have been consulting with the Supreme Court of the ESUN and the USC the past couple of days, and we have come to the conclusion that it would be best if you were suspended from your position for a while. This is only a precaution until the Preventers can give us some useful information about what's going on in space. It will, of course, be kept quiet for your sake." Relena stared in disbelief at President Garrison. _Suspended?_

"I…" She tried to speak, but no words would form in her mind. What was she supposed to do? There was nothing she could do, not after the Supreme Court had made a decision. She sighed heavily, leaning back in her chair, soaking in this information.

"Like we said, it's merely a precaution. As soon as your innocence is proven, then your title will be reinstated. Quietly, of course. So it will be as if it never happened." President Simmons said, trying to console her. Relena looked up at her superiors. She swallowed her emotions the best she could, and spoke.

"I see." She asked, her voice flat and monotone, reflecting how broken she was inside, despite her best efforts to keep her emotions hidden. The two presidents looked at her, barely a trace of compassion or sympathy on their faces. Relena knew there had to be something more going on behind the scenes than she knew about. "If you'll excuse me…" She gathered her things and, with the most dignified air she could muster, left the room.

--

-Blue September Rain-


End file.
